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The Deaf Malawians of Malawi

The Deaf Malawians of Malawi, numbering approximately 200,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a community of individuals who are culturally Deaf and actively participate in Deaf culture, often using sign language as their primary means of communication. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Malawian Sign Language is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Deaf Malawian

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Deaf Peoples
Country: Malawi
People Cluster: Deaf
Primary Language(s): Malawian Sign Language (lws)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 200,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG047783
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Pray for the Deaf Malawians of Malawi

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Malawian Sign Language
Language Family: Sign Language

46%
%
Malawian Sign Language Speakers

Media Resources in Malawian Sign Language:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Malawian Sign Language:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Malawian Sign Language bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Deaf Malawians are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Deaf Malawians:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Deaf Malawians of Malawi

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
readEphesians 5:8

Pray that those who are lost will turn from the darkness they are walking in and embrace the light, becoming children of light who bear fruit in every good work.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.
readIsaiah 55:6

Pray that the lost will seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.”
readActs 17:32

Ask God to give those He sends to cross cultures wisdom and discernment as they engage in spiritual conversations with those who are curious about the gospel.

Deaf Malawian Across Countries (ROP3 - 116592) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Deaf MalawiansPG047783Deaf MalawiansMalawi200,000Engaged yet UnreachedMalawian Sign LanguageEthnoreligion

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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